An update

I did have my session with the Lithotriptor and it looks like the kidney stone was busted up into small pieces which have passed. The process was painless as I was sedated and didn’t feel a thing. No pain or effects from the process. Now to keep up my liquid intake regimen to avoid this in the future.

We have had a lot of rain over the last week, in fact over 6 inches locally on the coast and much, much more in the mountains which is where it is needed to fill the lake where our water comes from. We had another 1.2 inches overnight. All is welcome even with the weather related problems it cause. Some roads have been closed, trees are down, and the airport was closed overnight on Saturday because of runway flooding.

As to our phone and internet problem – I got a recorded message on Saturday afternoon saying that “the scheduled repair would not take place until the 23^rd of February.” That was 3 whole weeks from the time we lost phone service. I called Frontier and was told “That is what it is.”

So, I visited the local cable company office on Monday and set up an appointment to have a full bundle of services, phone, internet, and TV, installed on Wednesday. When I returned home I received a phone call from the cable company asking if it would be OK to do the installation on Tuesday morning. OK, now that is service.

The installation was done on Tuesday but a few problems came up. Mainly, our cabling in the house is 50 years old and all needs to be replaced. That is a major job. One that I need to talk to the cable company about. In the mean time, we do have phone, internet, and TV but some of it needs to be fine tuned yet. All in good time.

When the cable is replaced, I want to move some of the outlets in a few rooms to shorten the cable runs. When this house was built the cable was installed in every room with no real thought as to where the TV’s would be placed.

I have spent the last 3 days changing the email addresses for all of our on-line accounts to the new email address. That is not a small job as many accounts require a 2 step process to make changes while others require that they make the changes themselves.

I decided to add a few photos from our cruise to hawaii.

 Sunset as we leave Kauai.

Banyon tree at Lahina on Maui. Multiple trunks but all one tree.

It is heck getting old.

On December 29^th I was admitted to the Emergency room of the local hospital with severe kidney stone pain. After a CT scan, an IV, and pain meds, I was released after 4 hours. The stone bothered me over the weekend but I was not in severe pain as I had been. We were scheduled to depart on another cruise to Hawaii with friends on January 4^th. This trip was surely in jeopardy as I also had an appointment with a Urologist on the morning of the 4^th. Her recommendation was to cancel the trip but in the end she left the decision up to me. Before I left the clinic she had me get an x-ray so they could track the stone.

Needless to say, I did make the cruise but about the time the ship left the dock in Los Angeles I was having second doubts about my decision as I was having mild kidney pain. This pain occurred a few more times over the next few days but then quit completely for the remainder of the cruise and has not recurred since.

However, I did have a scheduled appointment with my Urologist when I returned from the trip and her suggestion was to have the stone removed as soon as possible. Her comment was “You have had this stone long enough so lets get rid of it”.

I am scheduled for a session with a Lithotriptor on Thursday of this week to “pound” the stone out of me with sound waves. In the mean time I have had multiple doctor visits, lab work, etc in preparation for the procedure.

As a result of all this medical stuff we canceled our annual winter trip to Arizona for this year. We hated to miss seeing all of our friends but I need to get this taken care of.

The other reason to get it done is because Clyda has knee replacement surgery scheduled for February 23^rd and I need to be ready to take care of her. This surgery is to replace the device she had installed about a year and a half ago. The device is perfect but she is unstable on her feet as the ligaments for that leg are stretched. The only way to compensate is to put in a new device with less movement sideways. Unfortunate, but it has to be done.

There is no traveling in our near future until Clyda is back on her feet and stable.

On another note: We are having RAIN. Not a lot, but enough to make a difference in the drought we hope. Of course, much more is needed to overcome all those years when we had little rain. The lake (our main water source) has come up some but is still has a long way to go before it spills over the dam. I doubt it will happen this year.

Cruise report.

We are back from our Cruise to Hawaii with friends. These are the same folks we did the Panama Canal trip with in 2010. Earlier in the year we all decided we wanted to do another trip together and this trip worked for all of us. It is a fifteen day trip out of Los Angeles with stops at four islands.

Leaving Los Angeles on Star Princess.

For the first few days the weather was cold and the seas were choppy so we confined ourselves to indoor activities. Believe me, there plenty of activities to keep us busy.

Our first stop was in Hilo on the big island of Hawaii. Thomas had rented a car so five of us drove to Volcano National Park and down the Chain of Craters Road to see the Sea Arch created when lava flowed into the ocean and wave action carved out the arch.

We also could see the large plume of steam caused by lava flowing into the ocean but it was about 4 miles away. You could hike to the lava but it was an 8 mile round trip over very rough terrain. Not possible for us because of time constraints.

Plume of steam where lava is flowing into ocean.

Arch rock.

We then drove back to see the Kilauea Crater and saw lava shooting up from a rift in the cauldera floor. We found out that a large section of the caldera wall had collapsed that morning causing the rift in the floor. As many times a I have been to Kilauea, I had never seen lava shooting up here. Pretty impressive.

Our next stop was Honolulu where we took a free local bus supposedly to the Ala Moana shopping center but it stopped at a jewelry shop first. We were a captive audience for a short time. We eventually did get to the shopping center where we had lunch and then returned to the ship.

Sunset in Honolulu.

We then stopped in Kauai where we took a local shuttle to the Marriott Beach Club where we spent a few hours on the beach. We have stayed here with friends years ago and whenever we are here we spend some time on the beach. It is free after all.

Beach at Kauai with ship in background.

Our last stop was in Maui. Here the ship had to anchor out and we had to take a ships tender in to the port. We rented a cab and had it take us to Whalers Village in Kaanapala which is about a 15 minute drive up the coast. It is where all the big hotels a located. We found a spot on the beach to people watch for a few hours then joined our friend Cay who was having lunch at a beach restaurant. Clyda and I had a lunch of Poke Tacos and guacamole. Very good! Poke is raw tuna soaked in lime juice which cooks the tuna.

After lunch we took a local bus back to the cruise dock and returned to the ship.

Our trip back to the California coast was uneventful but a little choppy. We did stop in Ensenada, MX for a day. Again we took a free local bus into town, not expecting much but from there did take a tour to a local blowhole where ocean water is forced up through a narrow opening and sprays high in the air. We had a free margarita and fish tacos for lunch then shopped our way back to the bus fending off local vendors as we went up the street.

Blowhole in Ensanada, MX.

This is the first time we have gotten off the ship in Ensenada and if we do another cruise with a stop there we will certainly repeat the experience.

We have had a couple of fairly large rain storms over the weekend with about 5.5 to 6 inches of rain so far. Very nice but we need more to fill our lakes and reservoirs.

We are now catching up on Dr appointments. Clyda for her upcoming knee replacement – replacement on Feb 23^rd and me with 2 appointments this week also. If all goes well we will leave for Quartzsite, AZ on Friday and make it a 2 day trip with an overnight stop in Boron.

All is well.

We are still alive and well here on the West coast.

We just came home from a 15 day cruise through the Panama Canal on the Celebrity Infinity with friends from Walnut Creek. It was a wonderful cruise with stops in Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, Puntarenas, Cost Rica, the Panama Canal, and Cartagena, Cloumbia. We completed the cruise in Ft Lauder dale, FL on Friday and visited the Henry Flagler Museum in West Pam Beach. On Saturday we flew back home.

I particularly like the ancient Guatemalan city of Antigua. It is up in the mountains and is UNESCO World Heritage site. That means it can be maintained but not changed. The streets are cobblestone as they have been forever.

We had perfect weather and calm seas for the entire trip.

Arriving home we hit the ground running to get all the Christmas stuff done. The outside lights are up, the tree is up and decorated, the Christmas letter is written, the packages have been mailed, but the cards remain. Those should be done in the next few days.

A very merry Christmas to all.

Another Desert trip complete.

Back from my fall desert trip.

What a great trip this year. We extended the trip by over a week so we could camp in Panamint Valley, West of Death Valley and explore those things which have been our our list of to-do’s for some time. In the past we had to drive from Death Valley which is about 50 miles by road each way.

A bonus was the military jets which used us as targets while flying low over the valley. We had parked our 4 RV’s in a row along a turnout in the road and I guess our predominately white vehicles made a convenient target for the pilots to see. We were buzzed numerous times and some at very low altitude. What a hoot! We also got some good video.

An ancient geoglyph or rock alignment.

Overview of Panamint Valley from the old townsite of Lookout in the Argus Range.

The downside of this week in Panamint valley was the 2.5 days of wind which piled up sand around our rigs and got into every opening. We eventually spent a day at the Ridgecrest Elks club blowing the sand out of everything with my air compressor. Every lock, window, under all the truck hoods, door hinges, etc.

While in Panamint Valley we explored the town of Darwin (people still live there), drove the back road from Darwin to China Springs and back to Panamint Springs Resort in Death Valley. A very nice trip.

One day we drove to the Owens Valley, West of Panamint Valley and visited the mining camp of Cero Gordo located at 8200 ft above the valley. We had made arrangements for a guided tour from the care taker. Many of the old buildings still stand and some are being refurbished by the present owner. The Silver and Lead mined at Cero Gordo were the predominant reason for the growth of Los Angeles. Eighty Six pound ingots were hauled by mule teams to Los Angeles for trans-shipment to smelters in San Francisco for processing. The freighting was done by Remy Nadeau of 20 mule team fame.

We moved to Calico Ghost Town near Barstow for 2 days so we could explore Inscription Canyon and all of its many petroglyphs. This involved about a 100 mile round trip, most of it off highway. We also visited the NASA display at the Barstow train station and well as the railroad museum nearby. Both worth the visit. We also got to see the worlds second largest meteor (6000 lbs) at another Barstow museum.

Ancient petroglyph in Inscription Canyon.

Petroglyph of Big Horn Sheep in Inscription Canyon.

We moved on from Barstow to the BLM area near Tecopa, CA, our usual stopping place after spending a night behind the Mad Greek restaurant in Baker, CA. The BLM area allows us to circle the wagons as it is not an organized campground.

From Tecopa we visited Saratoga Springs along the Harry Wade 1849 exit route out of Death Valley. We have been here before but this time we wanted to look for ancient Indian village sites as well as check out the mining areas. We did all of the above.

What 1.5 inches of rain look like at Tecopa BLM.

Armagosa River in Southern Death Valley crossing Westside Road.

We planned to visit Galena Canyon in the South end of Death Valley but a day of rain raised the level of the Armagosa River making it too dangerous to cross with 4x4 vehicles so instead we drove to the Ashford mine trail head and hiked 2.2 miles up canyon to the mine site. Soon after we arrived it started raining so we took shelter in the mine kitchen and had lunch. The rain stopped shortly thereafter so we explored for a while before going back down the canyon to the vehicles. This was my third trip to the Ashford mine and not one I was planning to do this year.

Ashford Mine in Death Valley.

Tim exploring Phinney Mine in Nevada North of Beatty.

King of the Hill!

Old telegraph wire and pole on the line from Bullfrog to Skidoo.

No trip to Tecopa is complete without a stop at China Ranch Date farm for a date shake and we did that twice this year. The second time was so son Tim could checkout a geo-cache high atop a mud hill near the ranch.

Eventually we moved to Death Valley and continued our exploring of mines, ghost towns, and Indian relics and then ended up attending lectures and events connected with the Death Valley 49er days.

DBRC (Desert Balloon Recovery Crew) haul of mylar balloons (33).

Campfire at Furnace Creek Campground.

On Sunday Nov 13^th we again drove back to Baker, spending another night there before driving home on the 14^th. We never drive from Baker to Barstow on a Sunday afternoon as the home bound Las Vegas traffic is a night mare. Much better to drive home on Monday.

 One of many great sunsets on our trip.

Yes, I am still here.

I picked up the RV from the repair shop and put out both of the slides here in the yard so I could check the closet up front and the pantry in back to see what supplies needed to be added for my fall trip. After that they came in just fine and the big living room slide seemed to work better than ever.

I have been working on menus and food lists for the trip. Also doing some yard work, etc. I am down to the last week before I leave so my to-do list has something on it for every day until I leave.

Tomorrow the truck gets a smog check. That happens every 2 years and is a joke. They check to see if I have messed with the truck computer or added anything to the engine. That takes about 10 minutes for which they charge $75. The only reason it has to be done is because people with strictly gas rigs complained that it “isn’t fair that we pay and they don’t”. Also, state officials wanted the extra revenue. The whole smog check thing is a joke as all the new cars really don’t need checking anymore but still must get checked for the revenue.

I made pizza tonight using a store bought crust in a can. It was thin crust which is what I like but it is awful to work with. Craig wanted to do his on a pizza stone in the oven. That didn’t turn out to well because once the crust is rolled out you can’t easily move it to the stone. He cooked his on a cookie sheet on top of the stone.

I put my crust on a grill mat and then transferred the mat to the BBQ on a cookie sheet. That worked fairly well but the crust cooks very fast so the bottom was very dark and crusty. Crusty is OK, dark not so much. Mine was Canadian bacon and pineapple. I want to do this for one of my meals on the fall trip. I just need to keep and eye on the crust cooking time.

Short post tonight. Mainly I wanted to let people know I am still kicking and looking forward to the fall trip.

Oh, by the way,,,,, Clyda is in Lynden, WA for a week to help niece Dawn celebrate her daughter Samantha’s first birthday which was yesterday.

She will be home Wednesday evening.

Signs of fall are in the air.

The weather has turned cooler, especially in the morning when I walk but warms up nicely by mid morning. Working outside during the day has been quit warm. I need to take frequent breaks from the heat or is because I’m old and need breaks! Probably both.

I got a call this week from the RV shop and they think the hydraulic ram for the living room slide is bad. If they can get it out it will be replaced or rebuilt if it isn’t replaceable. With an older RV, the possibility of finding replacement parts is a crap shoot.

I also had the water softener people out to check why the softer is recycling every other day and they couldn’t reset the timer. It is mechanically shot. I guess for being 28 years old, that isn’t too bad. It was only serviced once in 2003. The real bad news is the cost for a new one. PRICEY! They will install it on Wednesday.

This week I started my fall yard trimming by attacking all of the front yard plants first followed by 2 days of trimming in the back yard. I also cut down the dead orange tree. That one is a real loss but it was also 50 years old. I shredded all the trimmings on Friday which amounted to two garbage cans full which I will let compost in the cans for a few months. That is the lazy mans way of composting.

Poor orange tree.

Shredding orange tree.

I am still finding things that are missing from my new computer but have slowly worked my way around them. Painful in the least but doable.

I am working on food lists for the upcoming desert trip as well as shore excursions for our November Panama Canal cruise. All of this takes lots of time of course.